


Fish Out of Water

by isabeau25



Series: Mermaid Rescue and Rehab Inc. [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, nothing graphic at all, very minor implication of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 03:44:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isabeau25/pseuds/isabeau25
Summary: Keith is going to get Shiro back, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop him. (I bumped the rating a little because Shiro is little, and Honerva wasn't gentle with him, but nothing is described, and nothing will be.)





	Fish Out of Water

“Keith!”

Keith flicked his tail, bringing himself to a stop before he could crash into Allura and flinching when the sudden movement jarred his shoulder.

“You’re not meant to be up,” Allura glared at him, her fins flaring slighting with her frustration, and the biolumincent swirls on them beginning to glow.

Keith lacked biolumincence, but if their parents were to be believed, everything he felt showed up just as plainly on his face. He was sure he looked angry, and Allura could tell.

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Keith tried to dodge around her.

“You’re not doing nothing,” Allura caught him around the waist, mindful of his injures, “you need to rest and heal.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Keith pushed against her with his good arm, “Shiro doesn’t have time for that.”

“Keith…” Allura’s face softened.

“Keith, Allura, is that you?”

Iantha pushed through the pillars of kelp, her markings giving off a gentle golden glow. Her brow creased in a frown when she spotted Keith.

“Keith, dearest, you’re supposed to be resting,” she reached out for him, catching his left hand and pulling him to her.

“But…” Keith protested weakly even as his fingers instinctively closed around hers.

“No buts,” Iantha said firmly, “Allura, your father wants to speak with you. I’ll make sure Keith makes it back to bed.”

“Yes mother,” Allura darted forward, kissing Keith’s cheek as she swam past him.

“Come along, dearest,” Iantha pulled Keith to her side, wrapping an arm around his back, “let’s get you tucked in again.”

Keith knew better than to fight her. Even if he hadn’t been hurt, Iantha could outpace him without even trying. She lead him through the drifting strands of seaweed and back to the soft nest of woven kelp that he had tried to abandon.

“Please, mother,” Keith pleaded as he was settled back in the nest, “you have to let me go. I’m the only one who can go up to the surface.”

Iantha tucked a blanket of heavy woven seaweed over him, smoothing it out. He was tired if he was calling her ‘mother’. Keith had joined their family late, and he was much more comfortable calling them by name, but sometimes ‘mother’ or ‘father’ would slip out when he was tired or upset.

He was both now.

“You’ll go, don’t doubt that,” Iantha settled on the edge of the nest and smoothed back his hair, “but not without a plan first. If you rush in and get captured yourself, we can’t come up to save you.”

“But we can’t wait for that,” Keith shifted restlessly, as if he were going to sit up, “they’ll hurt Shiro. I have to find him now.”

“We’ll get him back,” Iantha said firmly, fiercely, with just a flash of her sharp teeth, “but not at the loss of you too.”

“But I have to…” Keith pushed himself up, only for Iantha to push him back down with a hand on his chest, “if I hadn’t…”

“Dearest, what happened was not your fault,” Iantha took his hand, squeezing it gently.

Keith wanted to argue, wanted to tell her that it was all his fault. It had been his responsibility to keep Shiro safe, and he had failed, but he was so tired of arguing. He curled up on his side, pressing his head against his mother’s tail. Iantha tucked the blanket around his shoulders and rubbed his back until she felt him relax and his breathing level out.

She left quietly after pressing a kiss to his temple, hoping that this time he would stay asleep.

Keith waited until he couldn’t hear the rustle of the kelp as Iantha moved through it, then sat up cautiously. When no heads poked out of the long waving strands to tell him to lay back down, he pushed himself out of the nest and propelled himself upward, hoping to avoid anyone traveling through the kelp forest this time.

Shiro couldn’t wait. He had to get him back now.

* * *

Keith itched at his bare legs, hating how different they felt from the scales of his tail. It had been a long time since he had last shed his tail skin, and he hadn’t missed it. Despite what his mother had always claimed, there was nothing good about being above the surface.

Keith carefully rolled the skin of his tail before standing. He would have to find something to carry it in. It would have been safest to leave it with his family, but, well, that wasn’t really an option when he couldn’t tell any of them he was going. He would just have to find a bag, or something that he could use to keep it close to him and safe.

And clothes. Humans had a thing about clothes.

Stealing was something Keith had always tried to avoid, but he didn’t think there was any other way for him to get what he needed, and surfers were terrible at actually locking the lockers along the beach. He managed to get his hands on a comfortable pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt, although it was hard to get on over his injured shoulder. He made sure to empty all the pockets of the backpack he took, leaving everything neatly stacked in the locker he got it from.

With his tail carefully tucked into his newly acquired backpack, Keith headed towards the marina. A lot of the things surrounding Shiro’s capture were blurry, but he remembered the name of the boat that had taken him.

_ The Haxus. _

* * *

Apparently, Keith looked enough like a college student that no one questioned him wandering around the University campus. They had told him at the marina that  _ the Haxus _ was a research boat used by the university’s marine biology department.

The ship had been there, bobbing placidly in the water, and Keith had had half a mind to sink the thing, or set it on fire. Maybe he still would after he got Shiro home safely. He bet Allura would help.

For now though, his priority had to be finding Shiro.

Apparently, the university was just finishing up finals and preparing for some kind of break. There weren’t a lot of students around, and the ones that were there looked too frazzled to care what Keith did. Once he figured out where the marine biology department was, he wandered through it until he was too dizzy with exhaustion to go any farther and had to sit down. His shoulder was throbbing, and he knew he was going to have to find something to eat soon. He didn’t want to though. He just wanted to find Shiro and go home.

As he sat on a bench in the hall, eyes half closed and curled in on himself, he listened to the few students who were still lingering in the hallways.

“… I can’t believe her!”

“What did she do this time?”

“She said she would bump my grade to passing if I scrapped the bottom of  _ the Haxus _ clean, but when I went to get the dock codes, she screamed at me and said she had already flunked me.”

Keith looked up through the fringe of his hair at the mention of the boat.

“That’s just the way Honerva is,” a shaggy looking student shrugged, “taking classes with her is like playing Russian roulette.”

“But that means I have to…” they continued past Keith, their conversation disappearing around the corner with them.

_ Honerva _ . Keith knew that name. He had seen it on the faculty board at the front of the building. There had been office numbers listed next to the names. He would find her and make her tell him where Shiro was.

Keith shoved himself up, but had to sit down again when it made him dizzy. It took a dozen deep breaths before he was able to try standing again. He was still light headed, but it was manageable.

After a long drink from the water fountain, Keith went on the hunt.

* * *

Keith’s whole body shook with rage, and he scrubbed angrily at his tears.

She had taken his baby brother, and thrown him in a tiny tank, and poked and prodded him, and ignored him while he screamed and cried. Her lab was full of photos, reports, chemicals that stunk and made his eyes burn.

He hated her. He hated her, and he was going to rip her throat out with his bare teeth. He was going to tear her into pieces and throw her to the bottom feeders where filth like her belonged.

He crushed a sheet of notes in his shaking hands, then ripped it apart. Before he knew it, he was grabbing for more papers, more experiment records, more photos. He didn’t want her to have anything of his brother’s.

He tore everything apart, smashed the computers and monitors, shattered the holding tank. Anything he could destroy, he did, until he was gasping and shaking on his hands and knees, barely able to get a full breath, his chest ached so badly.

It didn’t really help. Shiro wasn’t here, and Keith wasn’t sure what to do next. He sat back and pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his face against them. He had been so close to finding him. He had been right here.

Keith hated that he had been right here.

He sniffled and rubbed his eyes again, taking a deep breath to try to steady himself. Alfor always told him when he was feeling overwhelmed to take five deep breaths, and if that didn’t work, to take another five. And if he still felt overwhelmed, Alfor said to come to him, no matter what he was doing or where he was. Keith really, really wanted his father right now, but he couldn’t go back without Shiro; he just couldn’t.

He had to keep looking.

Keith put his hand down to push himself up, but he slipped on the papers scattered all over the floor. He looked down to see a photo he hadn’t seen in his haste to tear the lab apart. The image was grainy, but it was clearly two young men lifting Shiro out of the tank. The larger one was looking nervously over his shoulder, and the smaller one was holding Shiro wrapped in a blanket. He was holding him close and careful, the way you were supposed to hold children.

Maybe… maybe…

He needed to find out who they were and where they had taken Shiro. He shoved the photo in the pocket of his shorts and pushed himself off the floor. At least Shiro wasn’t with the witch anymore.

* * *

Pidge didn’t know how she kept getting roped into these things. This was worse than the time Hunk and Lance had convinced her to go on a week long sailing trip with them and almost shipwrecked them. 

They wanted her to clean out their lockers and bring them their stuff, and Hunk had a huge list of groceries he wanted her to pick up, but they didn’t want to come get her, even though she didn’t have a car. Somehow, she was supposed to get herself to the other side of the island where there were giant bugs, and no air conditioning, and no internet access. They were crazy, both of them.

She really wanted to see the baby mermaid though. Lance and Hunk kept going on about how cute he was, but they refused to send her any pictures. Lance said it was a security risk. He wasn’t wrong, but Pidge was still grumpy about it.

They has insisted she grab all their textbooks from their lockers, and her bag was so heavy with them she could barely lift it. They so owed her. She didn’t care what they said, there wasn’t going to be anything on the care and keeping of mermaids in any of their texts.

Pidge was so busy trying to get out of the marine biology department without toppling over or running into Professor Honerva, that she didn’t see the boy until she plowed into him. She bounced back, dropping her bag and landing hard on her backside.

She was about to yell at the person she had hit when she saw him on the ground too, clutching his arm to himself and curled around it like he was in pain.

“Are you okay?” Pidge scooted over to him, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

He nodded, but the way his breaths came in ragged gasps made it obvious he was lying.

“Did I hurt your arm?” Pidge reached for him, and he flinched back.

“I’m fine,” he managed to ground out.

“Yeah, you look it,” Pidge snorted, “I can walk you down to…”

“But Professor Honerva…”

“Get out of my way!”

Pidge jerked her head up at the voices coming from around the corner. Honerva was not someone she wanted to run into. She scrambled to her feet, grabbing her bag in one hand and the arm of the guy she had knocked down in the other. She pulled him up and dragged him into a classroom, shutting the door as quietly as she could and ducking down behind it.

“Please be quiet,” she begged.

The guy crouched behind the door, his whole body trembling. He was obviously still in pain, but he looked like he was ready to rip through the door and maul someone.

“Listen, strange person,” Pidge hissed, grabbing the arm that didn’t seem hurt, “my life will be infinitely easier if Honerva doesn’t know I’m here. I’m not even in this department, and I know better than to mess with her. So be quiet.”

He stared at her for a moment before going still. Pidge cautiously released his arm, pressing her ear to the door to listen. She heard hurried footsteps go by, but they didn’t pause, and she relaxed.

“Thanks,” Pidge breathed out, “my two doofus best friends did something to tick her off, and I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it.”

The guy didn’t say anything, just settled against the wall, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He looked exhausted, and he was still holding his arm gingerly.

“You look terrible,” Pidge shifted to sit cross-legged, dragging the bag back to her, “let me walk you down to the student health center.”

He shook his head wearily, “I’m fine.”

“You’re a lousy liar,” Pidge gave him an unimpressed look.

“I’ve been told that,” a ghost of a smile crossed his face.

“So, I’ll just…” Pidge was cut off by her phone ringing.

When she finally managed to dig it out of her bag, it was Hunk. His picture popped up on her screen, looking much too cheerful for her current mood.

Suddenly a hand shot out, grabbing the phone. Pidge instinctively tightened her grip on it, trying to pull it back.

“Hey!” she hadn’t even seen him get close to her, he had moved so fast, “what are you doing!”

“Who is he?” the guy demanded, “where do I find him?”

“Let go!” she tried to pull away, but for someone who had looked ready to pass out a minute ago, he was surprisingly strong.

Her mind helpfully supplied the exact location of her taser in her bag at the same time she registered just how unnaturally sharp this guy’s teeth seemed. The call ended, and the screen went blank. He froze, staring at the screen, his breath coming in harsh gasps, then released her.

She fell back slightly and was quick to scramble away from him. The cell phone fell on the ground between them.

“What’s your problem?” she demanded, fumbling in her bag for her taser in case he tried anything else.

“Please,” he reached tentatively for the phone, “I need to find him. I think… I think he might know where my little brother is.”

Pidge froze, staring at him. It seemed entirely possibly that this was just some crazy guy, or someone who was delirious with pain or fever. He certainly looked bad enough for that. His teeth though, really did look sharp, almost not human, and Lance had mentioned as part of a long, long boring tirade about trying to figure out what to feed the merbaby that he had very sharp teeth.

“What’s your brother’s name?” Pidge asked.

“Shiro,” he curled into himself a little, gaze dropping to the floor.

“Of course, why not?” Pidge grumbled, snapping up her phone, “my week couldn’t get any weirder, so why not throw this in, too.”

He gave her a puzzled look.

“My name is Pidge,” she offered, standing up and hefting her bag back over her shoulders.

“Keith,” he said tentatively.

“Why don’t you have a tail?” she asked.

He looked up at her wide eyed, his hands tightening around the strap of his backpack.

“Look,” she put her hand on her hips, “I can get you in touch with him, but I’m not sure if I should.”

“Please,” he repeated, voice cracking, “I have to find him.”

He looked so sincere that Pidge felt bad for him. She didn’t want to put Hunk and Lance in danger though, so she waited to see if he would answer.

“I took it off,” Keith said weakly.

“Of course you did,” Pidge pushed her glasses up to pinch the bridge of her nose; Hunk and Lance owed her forever.

“I did!” Keith fumbled to get his backpack off, “Shiro can’t, but I can.”

He pulled open his backpack and inside was what seemed to a roll of cloth covered in scales. They sparkled dimly in the low light of the classroom, a faint iridescent gold edging each one. Pidge reached out to touch it, and he quickly snatched it back, hugging it to his chest.

“Okay,” she breathed out, not sure what to believe, “I’ll call Hunk, but not here.”

She offered him her hand, and he took it, letting her pull him to her feet. He staggered once he was up, and she had to brace him to stop him from toppling.

“Seriously, are you okay?” she frowned up at him.

“I’ll be fine once I find Shiro,” he seemed to straighten by force of will alone and slung his backpack over one shoulder again.

“Just what I need in my life,” Pidge grumbled as she lead the way out of the classroom, “more stubborn idiots.”

* * *

_ The cuddle fish says his brother’s name is keef (sp?), but he has a ‘sparkly red tail that’s really shinny and pretty’. He was very upset by the idea of his tail coming off. :( _

Pidge frowned down at the text from Lance, then back at Keith. He was curled in the shade of a tree, holding his backpack like a pillow to his chest and sucking sullenly on the straw of a capris sun. He still looked terrible, and she had told him if he wanted her to contact Hunk and Lance, he had to sit down and drink something.

“Shiro says his brother’s tail doesn’t come off,” Pidge informed him.

“Don’t tell him that!” Keith’s head jerked up in alarm, “you’ll freak him out.”

“Too late for that,” Pidge said mildly, “shouldn’t your brother know your tail comes off?”

“He’s never seen me without it,” Keith scowled, “he’s too little to explain it to.”

“Well, I’m not,” Pidge huffed.

“It’s none of your business,” Keith glared and went back to his capris sun.

Pidge shook her head and texted Lance back,  _ he says he wouldn’t know about that part. _

_ Send a pic _

“Keith,” when he looked up at her with a scowl, she snapped a picture and sent it to Lance.

_ Send a pic where he doesn’t look like a murderer. No point in traumatizing the poor cuddle fish more than he already is. _

Pidge rolled her eyes.

“Lance says to smile so you don’t scare Shiro,” Pidge held up her phone again.

“He’s already scared,” Keith snapped.

“Yeah, probably,” Pidge agreed, “but he’s also being spoiled rotten by two dorks. Lance spent all morning catching crabs for him and cracking them open.”

“He loves crab,” Keith’s features softened, and Pidge snapped the picture.

While she waited for Lance’s response, she started digging through her backpack for a granola bar or something. Keith didn’t seem to be improving, and since he wouldn’t tell her what was wrong, the best she could think to do was ply him with food and drink. Keith refused the offered food, slurping the last of his capris sun, then chewing on the straw.

_ Yeah, that’s him. Cuddle fish almost jumped out of his tank when he saw the picture. _

_ So what do we do?  _ Pidge texted back.

_ Working on it _

“Lance says Shiro recognized you,” Pidge informed Keith.

“Can we go now?” Keith demanded.

“It’s not that easy,” Pidge had already explained this, twice, “I don’t have a car. There’s no way for me to get where they are on my own.”

“Then I’ll walk,” Keith pushed himself up, but swayed unsteadily and had to brace his hand against the tree, “just tell me where he is.”

“Seriously,” Pidge scrambled to her feet, “what is wrong with you? Why do you look like you’re about to pass out all the time?”

“I’m fine,” Keith ground out, but didn’t stop Pidge from helping him sit down, “just tell me where he is.”

“Forget this,” Pidge snapped up her phone and dialed Lance, “if you won’t tell me what’s wrong, you can talk to Lance. If you die, I’m not dragging your dead body anywhere.”

Keith gaped at her, but she ignored him.

“What’s wrong?” Lance picked up before the first ring finished, “did he try to hurt you?”

“No,” Pidge tapped her foot impatiently.

“You have your taser on you, right?” Lance pressed and his worried tone was somewhat off-set by Hunk baby talking in the background in response to happy little squeaks and whistles.

“Yes, but I doubt I would need it,” Pidge started to pace in a tight line in front of Keith, “he’s so dizzy he can’t even stand up, and there’s something wrong with his arm, but he won’t let me look at it. If he passes out, I’m leaving him laying in the middle of the quad.”

“Let me talk to him,” Lance sighed.

Lance lifeguarded over the summers to earn extra money, and he had gotten his EMT certification a few years ago so his resume looked better; apparently lifeguarding on a tropical island was a coveted position. If Keith wasn’t going to work with her at all, he would just have to deal with someone actually qualified.

“It’s for you,” Pidge held the phone out to Keith.

Keith snatched it from her, putting it to his ear, “where’s my brother?”

“Let’s worry about that later,” Lance said dryly, “what’s wrong with you?”

“Someone kidnapped my little brother!” Keith said a little too loudly, and Pidge glanced around the quad nervously, but with finals winding down, there was almost no one on campus.

“Look, I have three younger siblings, and I know you must be really scared for Shiro, but he’s safe, and we’re taking care of him,” Lance soothed, “but if you pass out, Pidge is too small to drag you here, so you need to tell me what’s wrong with you.”

Keith hesitated, not sure how much he should say, but he did feel terrible, and he was dizzy and unsteady every time he stood up.

“I hurt my shoulder,” he said quietly.

“Are we talking like a muscle sprain, or blunt force, or cut up?” Lance asked.

“It got cut,” Keith admitted, hand unconsciously coming up to grip his shoulder.

“Are you bleeding?” Lance still sounded so calm, like he asked people things like this regularly.

“I don’t think so,” Keith wasn’t really sure; it was hurting a lot, and once the seaweed wrapped around it had started to dry out, it had become uncomfortable, “it happened about a week ago.”

“But you lost a lot of blood when it happened,” Lance didn’t really make it a questions.

“Yeah,” Keith admitted.

“Is being out of the water doing anything weird to you?” Lance prodded.

“No,” Keith didn’t think it was worth it to mention how dry and itchy his skin felt; he had lived on land for over half his life; it wasn’t going to hurt him.

“So, you need to eat and get lots of fluids, and go lay down for a while,” Lance informed him.

“But…” Keith protested.

“Put Pidge back on,” Lance said.

Pidge snatched her phone back from him before he could insist on being taken to his brother again.

“Well?” she asked.

“I think he needs to eat, drink, and take a nap,” Lance told her, “see if you can get him sashimi. The cuddle fish likes sea food.”

“Okay, but then what?” Pidge waved her arm in the air as if he could see her, “how do we get out to you?”

“Hunk is going to come pick you up after it gets dark,” Lance explained.

“What am I supposed to do with him until then?” Pidge ignored the slightly offended look Keith gave her.

“Take him back to your dorm and feed him,” Lance snorted, “if he passes out, call me.”

“But why can’t Hunk come get us now?” Pidge demanded.

“Because we’ve seen the same ship pass by the lagoon twice now, and it’s sketchy.”

“Oh,” Pidge frowned, taking a deep breath, then letting it out, “okay. We’ll be waiting for you at my dorm. Tell Hunk I didn’t get his shopping done.”

“I’m sure he can manage,” Lance said mildly, “we’ll see you tonight. Be careful.”

“Yes mother.”

“I mean it,” Lance grumbled, “we don’t know anything about this guy.”

“Okay, okay,” Pidge grinned, “we’ll be careful. See you tonight.”

Pidge hung up and turned to look at Keith. He stared back, managing to look both miserable and angry. Kind of like a wet cat, really.

“Come on,” Pidge held her hand out, “they’re going to come get us tonight, but Lance said I have to feed you.”

“I’m not hungry,” Keith said stubbornly, but he accepted the hand up.

“Tough,” Pidge grumbled, “if I have to buy you food, you have to eat it.”

* * *

Keith had eaten a little bit of the sashimi Pidge had gotten him, and downed a bottle of water and half a bottle of Gatorade. He had seemed to be feeling better after eating, or at least more steady on his feet, although he was still sullen and not interested in talking with her.

Which was too bad, because assuming he really was some kind of mermaid, she had a lot of questions. She also wanted to get a closer look at his supposed tail. Keith had refused to show it to her again though.

“Just a peak?” she wheeled her chair a little closer to the bed where Keith was sitting.

“No,” Keith pushed back farther against the wall, tucking his backpack in the corner behind him, “stop asking.”

“Fine,” Pidge threw up her hands and spun in her chair, going back to her laptop, “drink some more water or something.”

She was trying to dig up everything she could on Honerva. Once she got to the cabin, there wouldn’t be internet, and accessing it through her cell would be slow and expensive. For now she was downloading as many documents and articles as she could find. She would read them later and try to figure out just how much of a threat the woman was.

Lance and Hunk had told her plenty of stories about why everyone in the marine biology department was afraid of her, but campus rumors didn’t necessarily reflect reality. It was obvious they were both spooked, and Pidge wanted to know just how worried they should be.

“Shiro likes shrimp and milkfish, too,” Keith said suddenly, “will you tell them that?”

Pidge looked over to find him slumped in the corner of the bed, backpack hugged to him and head resting on the wall.

“You can just lie down, you know,” Pidge pointed out, “Hunk’s not going to be here for hours. You might as well take a nap.”

“Also he can’t be out of the water very long,” Keith sounded distinctly hazy, “he can breathe for a while above water, but he’s too little to do it for long. Tell them that too.”

“I’ll text them if you lie down,” Pidge reached for her phone, “just looking at you is making my neck hurt.”

Keith nodded solemnly, clearly more than a little out of it, and slid down to lay curled on the bed. Pidge obligingly texted Hunk, and he responded with lots of questions about water quality she didn’t understand and wasn’t going to rouse Keith for when it looked like he might actually sleep. He could grill Keith about it on the drive out to the cabin.  

“He likes to be held when he’s falling asleep,” Keith murmured, “and sometimes his arm hurts, and he needs someone to rub it.”

“His arm?” Pidge echoed.

“Mmm-hmm,” Keith muttered.

“Okay,” Pidge said softly, “I’ll let them know.”

Keith didn’t respond, and Pidge watched him for a few minutes, but he seemed to have finally fallen asleep. Despite how tightly he was clutching his backpack, the rest of him was relaxed, and his breathing was steady.

Pidge turned back to her laptop, texting Hunk before going back to work. It was a few minutes before Hunk texted her back.

_ Sorta a relief about his arm. We were afraid Honerva had done it. _

Pidge frowned and texted back a question mark.

_ Sea squirt is missing part of his right arm. He didn’t want to talk about it, _ Hunk responded,  _ if his brother knows about it, then it probably happened before she caught him. _

Pidge glancing over at Keith again. Even sleeping, he looked tired.

_ Haven’t caught any milkfish yet but he’s been liking the parrotfish. Also octopus. Lance managed to pull one up and the sea squirt is still talking about it. _

Pidge made a face. Octopus ranked low on the list of things she liked to eat, but Hunk and Lance liked them when they were fresh, and Lance liked diving for them. She supposed it was good they had found a new friend to eat them with. Maybe they would stop asking her to try it again. She had tried it once, and that had been enough. A second try wasn’t going to help.

She would let Keith know when he woke up, though. Maybe it would make him feel better. It had to be hard having your brother taken like that. Her brother Matt was always off on research expeditions with her dad. Even though he was older, and she knew the team he worked with took lots of precautions, she still worried about him. It would have driven her crazy to have him just disappear.

She pushed herself back from her desk, standing and stretching her arms over her head. They definitely needed to get Keith back together with his brother. Pidge pulled a blanket off the end of the bed and carefully covered Keith with it. He stirred, but didn’t wake.

She settled back at her desk after grabbing a snack and kept working, not noticing the gradual darkening of the sky until her phone went off. It was a text from Lance.

_ Hunk just left. He should be there in a couple hours. _

Keith sat up on the bed, blinking blurrily and rubbing his eyes. Pidge jumped up to grab a water bottle, offering it to him.

“That was Lance,” she said, “Hunk should be here in a couple hours. We’ll have you back with your brother before morning.”

Keith gave her a tentative smile as he took the water, “thanks for your help.”

Lance and Hunk had gotten her into a lot of weird situation since she had met them, with mixed results, and she hadn’t been sure about this one, but when she saw the hopeful look on Keith’s face, she didn’t have any doubts left.

She was all in.


End file.
